A potential post-Brexit freedom of movement deal could allow Brits and Australians to live and work each others’ countries without a visa.
Trade Minister Liz Truss revealed the plan was being discussed as part of a wide-ranging trade deal with Australia that she hopes to complete within months of exiting the European Union.
Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, she said: “We want a fully comprehensive trade deal that reflects our deep, ongoing relationship, the friendship between our two countries, the fact that Australians want to come and live and work in Britain, and Brits want to come and live and work in Australia.”
In efforts to reduce the economic impact of Brexit,
Britain is looking to line-up a series of trade deals with smaller, non-EU countries.
Truss - who is in the middle of a three-nation tour that includes Australia,
New Zealand and
Japan - said she expects a quick conclusion to trade talks that will begin when Britain leaves the EU.
“The reason that I have chosen to make Australia one of the first countries I have visited as trade secretary is because it is an absolute priority to get on with this trade deal,” Truss told reporters in Canberra.
“I would say months rather than years for it to be completed.”
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has said he will take the country out of the EU on October 31 with or without a deal with Brussels.
But parliament this month passed a law that requires Johnson to ask the EU for a three-month delay to
Brexit if a deal is not approved by October 19.
Two-way trade between Australia and Britain is worth A$26.6 billion (£14.64 billion), data shows. The
UK is Australia’s seventh-largest trading partner.
Australia’s Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham said a trade deal with Britain will particularly benefit the country’s agricultural sector, worth around £32.95 billion.
“As part of the EU, market access to Britain in terms of agricultural products has been limited,” Birmingham told reporters. “This is something we will look to address.”Related... That Time Your New Justice Secretary Ranted About Imported Cheese